Vending machine



Aug. 22, 1933. M. H. RICHARDSON VENDING MACHINE Filed March 19, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet 1 06/7757 It/IIIRDSOA I Aug. 22, 1933.

M. H. RICHARDSON 1,923,396

VENDING mcnnm Filed March 19, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 jZV/Zifi WyrO/Z E3156/? artisan Aug, 22, 1933.

M. H. RICHARDSON VENDING MACHINE Filed March 19, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3Aug. 22, 1933. n, RICHARDSON 1,923,396

' VENDING MACHINE Filed March 19, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug.22, 1933 UNITED STATES VENDING MACHINE Myron H. Richardson, Chicago, Illassignor to 7 Advance Machine Co Corporation of Illinois ApplicationMarch 19, 1930.

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in vending machine of the type inwhich there is maintained a plurality of supplies of articles, onepreferably arranged in advance of the other, the articles beingcompletely delivered or dispensed from one of the supplies, after whichthe articles will be delivered from the other supply.

A further object is to provide an improved machine of this characterhaving a single delivery station adjacent which one of the supplies isarranged, and improved means embodying a container or holder for theother supply which is adapted to be shifted automatically to a po sitionadjacent the delivery outlet in the absence of any articles in the firstsupply.

A further object is to provide in a machine of this character a singleejector mechanism for both of the supplies, and improvedmeans wherebythe ejector Will under certain conditions shift the second supply orholder into a position that the articles from said second supply may hedelivered by the said ejector through the delivery opening to theoperator of the machine.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features ofnovelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangementof the several parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed andshown in the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention, and inwhich Figure I is a rear elevation ofa machine of this characterconstructed in accordance with the principles of this invention and withthe back of the casing removed.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of the containers or holders forthe articles to be vended.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken on line l4, Figure 1, withparts omitted, and showing the shiftable container in one positionFigure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing the shiitable containerin another position.

Figure 6' is a detail sectional view taken on line 66, Figure 7, withparts omitted.

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken on line 7 -7, Figure 6, with partsomitted.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view of the coin operating mechanism.

Figure 9' is a View similar to Figure 6, showing the parts in theirnormal positions.

Figure 10' is a view similar to Figure 9, showing the parts in anotherposition.

mpany, Chicago, Ill a Serial No. 437,210

Figure 11 is a perspective" View of a detail,

Figure 12 is a detail perspective view of the member for shifting themovable container} Referring more particularly to the" drawings thenumeral 15 designates an enclosing casing which may be of any desiredsize and configuration and is provided with a delivery or dischargeoutlet 16- inthe front thereof, throng-ii which the articles to bevended are delivered. The front 17' of the casing is provided with awindow 18 through which the articles towe venues may be viewed, andarranged also at the front of the machine is an operating" handle 1'9 ofa coin controlled device.

rranged within the casing 15 is a supplement al casing 20 which may besecured in position in any suitable manner, adapting the some for bodilymovement from the casing 15 when desired.

Within the casing 20 is arranged acontainer 21 for containing articles22 to' be Vendd'; This container 21 is pivotally connected 'by' one endas at 23' to the walls of the casing 20 the: bot tom of the container21' is operrsoas toallow tl ie articles held therein to bedischargedtherefrom.

The container 21 is arranged withii-i the casing 20 so that it will bespaced fromthe wall 24 thereof to form another space 25 so=as to foi mwith the wall of the casing asecond-container for holding a supply 26'of articles to be veiided. The container 21 isso arranged withre'spebtto the supply 26'- that it Wilibe m the rear-thereof and so thatthe delivery opening ofthe container 21 will be spaced fromthe deliverystation in the machine.

Mounted within the casing I5 is a slid'ej z l, preferably in the form ofa hollow name as shown more clearly in Figure 6, and carried by theframe is an ejector element 28.- The frame 27 and ej'ector'28 aremovable over aisu'p' port 29, the latterbeingarranged bemw' the outletof the container 25 so thatthe articles 26 will be delivered upon thesupport or'platioi ih 29'when the ejector 28*isnfioved from the positionshown in full lines in Figure 10 to the position shown in dotted lines.7 v

The ejector-is adapted to be reel-probated in any suitable mannerpreferably bymea'ns 'of colii controlled mechanism designated enerau Bythe reference numeral 30 in Figure" 8.

Any suitable coin controlled mechani'sm may be employed for thispurpose. Suffice itto* say that the coin com-011m mechanisin embodies: acoin carrying disc 31 having a coin p'o'c'liet or seat 32- therein, fromwhich the comis adapted ,at one end thereof. end of the slide 45 as at4'? is an arm 48 which is pivotally mounted as at 49 in a fixed bearing,the rear of the slide.

to be delivered by the operation of a shaft 33 to which is connected theoperating handle 19. The coin is normally held against delivery from theseat 33 by means of a spring controlled finger 34 which is movableadjacent the periphery of the coin to hold it in its seat, well known inthis, art.

A cam 35 is controlled by the coin controlled mechanism and the rotationof this cam will cause it to engage projections 3637 on a pivotallymounted lever arm 38. The lever 38 is preferably bifurcated to form arms39 which engage over projections 40 on the slide 27, also in a mannerwell known in this art, so that when the proper coin is inserted andwhen the spring finger 34 is removed, the cam 35 will be operated torock the lever 38 and thereby reciprocate the slide 27.

Connected with the finger 34 is an arm 41 which in turn is connectedwith the rock shaft .42 and the end of the shaft is shaped to form anarm 43 adapted to project upwardly through a space 44 in the support orplatform 29 to be engaged by the articles as they are delivered from thecontainer to the platform 29 to depress the arm 43, rock the shaft 42and withdraw the known construction and constitutes no part of thepresent invention.

Mounted upon a suitable support preferably one of the walls of thecasing 15, is a slide 45 which is provided with a lateral projection 46Connected with the other 50. The other end 51 of the arm is preferablyslightly yielding and extends downwardly and in ,a position to engage alateral face of the articles iably at the rear thereof, is a rock shaft52 journaled in suitable bearings.

One end of the shaft is shaped to form a catch 53 that projects to Theother end of the shaft is shaped to form a depending arm or finger 54, aspring 55 being provided which tends normally to elevate the hook 53, astop 56 being also provided to limit the movement of the catch 53 underthe influence of the spring 55.

The arm 54 is arranged in the path of movement of the lateral projection46 on the slide tions shown in Figures 9 and '10, by the pressure of thearticle from either of the containers against the arm 51, the catch 53will be held depressed but, in the absencerof any articles exertingpressure against the arm 51, as shown in Figure 6, the slide 45 will beheld against forward movement and the spring 55 will elevate the catch53 to the position shown in Figure 6.

As the slide 2 7 and ejector 28 are moved to the rear from theposition'shown in Figures 9 and 10, to the position shown in Figure 6,that is when there is no article pressing against the arm 51 to hold thecatch 53 depressed, the arm -54, engaging the projection 46 on the slide.45 will move the slide 45 backwardly or to the position shown in Figure6, to swing thearm 51 to theposition shown in this figure.

Pivotally mounted upon a suitable support such as a shaft 57 and at theroar of the container 21, is a member 58 preferably provided withupwardly projecting fingers 59 that are adaptedto be moved intoengagement with back of the container 21. The member 58 is provided witha forwardly projecting portion 60 preferably intermediate the fingers 59and such portion is provided with an opening 61 to form a shoulder 62 sopositioned that the catch 53 will engage the shoulder 62 and the catchwill be adapted to pass into or through the opening 61.

When the catch 53 is elevated, which will be at a time when there are noarticles pressing against the arm 51, and the slide 2'? with the ejector28 is moved rearwardly or from the dotted line position shown in Figure16 to the full line position shown in Figures 10 and 6, the catch willenter the opening 61 in the portion 60 of the member 58 so that upon theforward movement of the slide 27 and ejector 28 from the full line tothe dotted line position shown in Figure 10, the member 58 will be swungabout its pivot on the shaft 5'] to cause the fingers 59 to move intoengagement with the back of the container 21 and to shift the latterfrom the position shown in Figure 9 to the position shown in Figures 6and 10, during the forward movement of the ejector, thereby positioningthe articles 22 in the container 23 to be delivered therefrom and into aposition to be ejected by the ejector 28 upon subsequent operations ofthe latter. In other words, when the container 25 is empty the absenceof articles in such container will cause the member 58 to beautomatically connected with the ejector so that upon operation of theejector the container 21 will be shifted so that the articles can bede-- livered therefrom.

After the container 21 is empty it is necessary to reset the samemanually from the position shown in Figure 10, back to the positionshown in Figure 9.

As soon as any of the articles from the container 21 contact with thearm 51 the catch 53 will be rendered inactive and the member 58 will bedisconnected from the ejector so that in the subsequent operations ofthe ejector the member 58 will not be affected.

The container 21 is locked in its normal and also in its adjustedposition in any suitable manner. A simple and eflicient means embodies arock shaft 63 (see particularly Figures 4 and 5) journaled in suitablebearings 64. The ends of the rock shaft are shaped to form dependingcatches 65 (see also Figures 6, 9 and 10) that are adapted to enteropenings 66 in later-ally projecting members 67 when the container ismoved into the position shown in Figures 5 and 6 and to engage behindone edge 68 of said inembers 6'7 when the container 21 is in theposition shown in Figures 4 and 9.

A spring 69 tends normally to move the catches 65 into operativepositions.

The shaft 63 between the catches 65 is shaped to form a crank as shownmore clearly in ures 6, 9 and 10, which is so disposed that when theparts are in the position shown in Figure 9,

member 58 or fingers 59 thereof.

.the crank will be in proximity to a portion of the p When in thisposition (as shown in Figure 9) and the catch 53 is rendered active soas to permit it to engage the shoulder 62 on the portion of the member58 in a manneras already ecribcd, upon a subsequent operation of theejector the member 58 or fingers 59 will engage the crank portion of theshaft 63 and rock the latter in its bearings, thereby releasing thecatches from behind the edge 68 of the member 67, thereby adapting thecontainer 21 for movement about its pivot 23 by the pressure of thefingers 59* against the back of the container until the containerreaches the position shown in Figure 10, at which time the catches 6.;will be in positions to drop into the openings 66 in the members 6'7,thereby locking the container 21 against retrograde movement.

After the supply in the container 21 has been exhausted and it isdesired to reset the mechanism, it will be necessary to move the slide2'7 and ejector 28 rearwardly so as to move the member 58 and fingers 59into the position shown in Figures 9 and 10. This can be accomplished byinserting a coin in the coin controlled mechanism. The crank shaft 63may then be rocked manually to release the catches 65, after which thecontainer 21 may be swung bachwardly upon its pivot to the positionshown in Figure 9.

It is thought that the operation of this mesh-- anism will be clearlyunderstood from the foregoing, but briefly stated, it is as follows.When both of the containers 21 and 25 are filled with articles and theparts are in the position shown Figure 9, the mechanism will be in itsnormal position.

The articles 26 from the container 25 are successively discharged by theoperation of the ejector 28 and slide 2'7, the presence of articles inthe container 25 holding the catch 53 inactive with respect to themember 58, by reason of the fact that the slide 45 will be heldforwardly by the pressure of the articles 26 against the arm 48 so thatthe projection 46 engaging the arm 54 will hold the catch 53 depressedso that during the reciprocation of the slide and ejector, while thearticles 26 are being delivered from the container the catch 53 willreciprocate through the opening 61 of the member 58 and will not theshoulder 62.

When, however, the supply 26 is exhausted, the slide 45 will be movedrearwardly by the arm 54 engaging the projection 46 on the slide toshift the arm 51 which controls the slide 45, to the position shown inFigure 6. This will also cause the projection 46 to move away from thearm 54 of the catch 53 and the spring 55 will raise the catch so thatupon the next forward movement of the slide 2'7 and ejector 28, thecatch 53 will engage the shoulder 62 on the member 58 and reel; thelatter about its pivot 57.

The rocking of the member 58 will cause it to rock the shaft 63 torelease the catches 66 from engagement with the edge 68 of the members6'7.

- A continued movement of the slide 27 and ejector 28 in the samedirection will correspondingly move the member 58 into engagement withthe back 23 of the container 21 to shift the latter into the positionsshown in Figures 10 and 6.

The articles 22 in the container 21 will then engage the arm 51 to shiftit and thereby cause the projection 46 on the slide 45 to engage the arm54 to depress the catch 53 and thereby disconnect the ejector slide withrespect to the member 58.

While the preferred form of the invention has "been herein shown anddescribed, it is to be tion and arrangement of the several parts, withinthe scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of thisinvention.

What is claimed as new is:-

1. In a vending machine a delivery station, means for holding a supplyof articles adjacent said station, an ejector for the articles, meansfor actuating the ejector, a container for holding an additional supplyof articles, means pivotally mounting said container, meansautomatically I 7 rendered active at a predetermined time in theoperation of the machine whereby the said container will be moved aboutits pivot by the operation of the ejector and whereby the articles insaid container may be ejected. by said ejector, and means for lockingsaid container in either of the positions to which it moved, the saidlocking means being rendered inactive in one position of the containerby the third recited means.

2. In a vending machine, means for maintain- I ing a supply of articlesto be vended, a pivotally mounted container for holding an additionalsupply of articles, an ejector operable upon the articles in the firstsaid supply to successively deliver them therefrom, positively actuatedmeans operating to shift the said container to a position that thearticles therein will be sue-- cessively delivered therefrom by saidejector when the articles in the first recited supply are exhausted, andmeans for locking said container against shifting movement, the firstsaid means embodying means operating upon said locking means forrendering the same inactive when said container is in one of itspositions.

3. A vending machine, means for holding a supply of articles to bevended, a container fixed against bodily movement but pivotally mountedfor swinging movement in the machine about a horizontal axis, an ejectorfor successively ejecting the articles from the first said supply, anormally inactive pivotally mounted member for shifting the containerabout its pivot, a normally inactive catch means operating in theabsence of articles in the first said supply for rendering said catchactive to connect the said member with said ejector for positivelyshifting thereby the said container upon a subsequent operation of theejector, to position the articles therein to be ejected by the ejectorin the absence of articles in the first said supply.

4. A vending machine, means for holding a supply of articles to bevended, a container fixed against bodily movement but pivotally mountedfor swinging movement in the machine, an

ejector for successively ejecting the articles from the first saidsupply, a normally inactive member, a normally inactive catch, meansoperating in the absence of articles in the first said supply forconnecting the said member with said ejector for shifting the saidcontainer upon a subse quent operation of the ejector to position thearticles therein to be ejected by the ejector, and means for locking thecontainer in one of its positions, the said member also acting upon thesaid locking means to render the same inactive.

5. In a vending machine, means for holding a plurality of supplies ofarticles to be vended, an ejector, one of said supplies being normallypositioned that the articles therein will be successively deliveredtherefrom upon the operation of the ejector, a container for the otherof said supplies normally maintained against ejection of the articlestherefrom by the ejector, said container being fixed, against bodilymovement but mounted for swinging movement about a horizontal pivot, andmeans responsive to the operation of the ejector in the absence ofarticles in the first said supply to positively swing the containerabout its pivot so that the articles therein will be successivelydelivered upon subsequent operation of the said ejector.

6. In a vending machine, means for holding a plurality of supplies ofarticles to be vended, an ejector, one of said supplies being normallypositioned that the articles therein will be successively deliveredtherefrom upon the operation of the ejector, a container for the otherof said supplies and normally maintained against ejection of thearticles therefrom by the ejector, said container being fixed againstbodily movement but mounted for swinging movement about a horizontalpivot, and means whereby the actuation of the ejector in the absence ofarticles in the first said supply will positively shift the said othersupply into a position that upon subsequent operations oi the ejectorthe articles will be successively delivered by the ejector from the saidother supply.

'7. In a vending machine, means for holding a plurality of supplies ofarticles to be vended, an ejector, one of said supplies being normallypositioned that the articles therein will be successively deliveredtherefrom upon the operation of the ejector, a container for the otherof said supplies being normally maintained against ejection of thearticles therefrom by the ejector, said container being fixed againstbodily movement but mounted for swinging movement, means whereby theactuation of the ejector in the absence of articles in the first saidsupply will positively swing the said container about its pivot into aposition that upon subsequent operations of the ejector the articleswill be successively delivered the ejector from the said other supply,and locking means for maintaining the said other supply against shiftingmovement, the container shifting means operating upon said locking meansfor rendering the latter inactive when the container is in one of itspositions. I

8. In a vending machine, means for maintaining a supply of articles tobe vended, an ejector, means for actuating the ejector to successivelydeliver said articles, a container for holding an additional supply ofarticles to be vended, said container being fixed against bodilymovement but mounted for swinging movement, a normally inactiveactuating member for swinging the said container about its pivot, acatch carried with the ejector, and means controlled by the articles inthe first said supply for normally rendering said catch inactive, thesaid catch being rendered active in the absence of articles in the firstsaid supply for connecting the ejector with the said member to operatethe latter to swing said container about its pivot into a position thatupon subsequent operations of the ejector the articles will besuccessively delivered by the ejector from the container.

9. In a vending machine, means for maintaining a supply of articles tobe vended, an ejector, means for actuating the ejector to successivelydeliver said articles, a shiftable container for holding an additionalsupply of articles to be vended, a normally inactive actuating memberfor shifting the said container, a catch carried with the ejector, meanscontrolled by the articles in the first said supply for normallyrendering said catch inactive, the said catch being rendered active inthe absence of articles in the first said supply for connecting theejector with the said member to shift said container into a positionthat upon subsequent operations of the ejector the articles will besuccessively delivered by the ejector from the container, locking meansfor maintaining said container against shifting movement, and meanswhereby the said actuating member when connected with said ejector willrender the said locking means inactive.

10. In a vending machine, means for maintaining a plurality of separatesupplies of articles to be vended, an ejector for successively ejectingthe articles from one of said supplies, a container for the other ofsaid supplies, said container fixed against bodily movement but mountedfor swinging movement about a horizontal pivot, and means responsive tothe operation of said ejector and controlled by the absence of articlesin the first recited supply for causing the ejector to swing thecontainer about its pivot into a position that the articles therefromwill be successively ejected by the ejector upon the subsequentoperation of the ejector.

11. A vending machine comprising a stationary container and a swingingcontainer for the articles, an ejector for successively ejecting thearticles from the stationary container in advance of the articles fromthe swinging container, normally inactive means for moving the swingingcontainer into a position that the ejector will successively eject thearticles therefrom when the stationary container is empty, and meansoperating automatically to connect the said normally inactive means withthe ejector to move the swinging container, the last recited means beingnormally maintained inactive by the presence of articles in thestationary container.

12. In a vending machine a stationary container and a swinging containerfor the articles, each having a discharge outlet, a reciprocatingejector for successively vending the articles from the stationarycontainer, a pivotally mounted .member adapted to engage and move theswinging container about its pivot to position the outlet thereof thatthe ejector will successively vend the articles therefrom, and meansrendered active by the absence of articles in the stationary containerfor automatically connecting the said pivot member with the ejector tobe moved thereby to shift the swinging container to have the articlesvended therefrom, the last said means being normally maintained inactiveby the presence of articles in the stationary container.

MYRON H. RICHARDSON.

